António Mourinha
Captain António Mateus Anjinho Mourinha is a Portuguese Navy officer currently serving as Director for the Portuguese Maritime Operational Experimentation Centre
and the first Portuguese Free Technology Zone at Troia and Setubal Bay. He is also Innovation Adviser to the Chief of
Portuguese Naval Staff. Commander Mourinha was born in Elvas, Portugal, in 1972.
He joined the Portuguese Navy by entering the Naval Academy in 1990, having completed his degree in Naval
Military Sciences in 1995.
He is a Navigation Officer by trade, getting his specialization in 2003. In his naval training CDR António Mourinha completed several other courses mainly related to MSO, like the Royal Navy’s “British Sea Fisheries Officers Enforcement Course” (2008) or the U.S. Coast Guard “Advanced Boarding Officers Course” (2009). In his tours at sea, from 1995 to 2005, he embarked in several naval units namely, FS “Honório Barreto”, Sail Training Ship “Creoula”, FF “Cte. Hermenegildo Capelo”, FF “Cte. João Belo” and in USS “Nashville”, as Staff Officer for the mission “Africa Partnership Station 2009”, off the west coast of Africa.
Commander Mourinha got also three commands at sea: he was the first commander of the FPB “Oríon” from 2001 to 2002, later, between March 2005 and August 2006, he commanded the patrol vessel “Cuanza”, and later, from 2013 to 2015 he commanded the FS “João Roby”.
Ashore Commander António Mourinha served at the Patrol Boat Squadron between 2007 and 2010, being the head of the Maritime Enforcement Office. During this first commission ashore, he keep embarking often as sea rider for maritime enforcement training of the fleet assets.
After, he served at the Fleet Command Staff, from 2010 to 2013, as head of Subsurface and Maritime Enforcement Section of the Operations Division, being responsible for the constabulary operations of the fleet. At the Fleet Command he was also leading the operational experimentation of Maritime Unmanned Systems and the planning of the related exercises of the REPMUS series.
Later Commander António Mourinha served at the Portuguese Naval Staff, as Head of Concept, Development & Experimentation Section, being responsible for developing concepts of employment, operational requirements and related operational experimentation. He was also the secretary of the Portuguese Navy Maritime Unmanned Systems (MUS) working group. In this duty he was the Portuguese Navy representative in the NATO Joint Capability Group on Unmanned Air Systems, in the NATO Maritime Tactical Unmanned Air Systems Working Group (being the secretary) and in the NATO MUS Initiative Steering Board.
In his last appointment he served at the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) as Planner of Operation Sea Guardian and subject matter expert for Maritime Security and Maritime Unmanned Systems (MUS) being involved in the development of the new NATO MUS Exercise Dynamic Messenger